Sadio Mane: ‘We were thinking about joining Man Utd most’
Liverpool star Sadio Mane has revealed how he originally desired to join Manchester United ahead of his move to Anfield.
The 28-year-old Senegal international moved to Liverpool for £30m after two impressive seasons at Southampton, where he scored 21 goals in 67 Premier League appearances for the south coast side between 2014 and 2016.
Was Mane right to ditch Man Utd for Liverpool? Five things to know…
- Mane joined Liverpool from Southampton for £30m in 2016.
- Since then, he’s scored 77 goals in all competitions and won the 2018/19 Premier League Golden Boot.
- He’s also played in two Champions League finals, winning the competition last season.
- But Mane has revealed he initially desired a move to Man Utd and came close to signing for Louis van Gaal.
- Man Utd have won the EFL Cup and Europa League since Mane’s move to Liverpool.
However, despite his immense success on Merseyside, which has seen him play in two Champions League finals and score 77 goals across all competitions, the forward has revealed it was fierce rivals Man Utd he initially had his sights set upon.
“We were thinking most about Manchester United,” Mane told The Times.
“That was a tough time for me as I was on the bench so I was not thinking about anyone calling me, but I was pleased he [Jurgen Klopp] did and was not thinking I was a rapper.”
Mane has previously spoken of how Louis van Gaal attempted to bring him to Old Trafford ahead of his Anfield switch, but that Klopp phoned him that same week and convinced him that Liverpool was the “right club” for his career.
“I was really, really close because I even met up with them,” Mane told the Mirror last year. “So I was coming, I was there and I spoke with the boss who was there before [Van Gaal].
“They made an offer, but in the same week, Klopp called me.
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“He said: ‘I think it’s the right club. The right coach for you, and I think it’s better that you go to Liverpool’.
“For me, I think it was the right time as well. I said, ‘I am going to Liverpool’.”
